Saturday I was sitting at the kitchen table sorting mail and coupons etc. Wes plopped down next to me and said he was bored. I suggested he clean his bathroom, but that suggestion went out into space to the constellation known as “Teenagious Ignorati.” So I plopped a catalogue down in front of him. I gave him a pen and told him to circle the things he liked. I used to do this with catalogues that my mother got in the mail, I still do. I’d lay on my bed and spend hours pretending I could order anything I wanted, all I had to do was circle it and it was mine.
I’d circle everything from toys to clothes to appliances; planning out my
Wes got busy with that pen, and just like his mother, he circled all the tech gadgets & cool stuff he would like for his room.
A little while later Brien came home and asked what we were doing. I offered my best explanation but his puzzled expression told me he didn’t understand the value of catalogue therapy.
“Wes, you can’t circle everything,” he said as though logic were involved.
“Yes, I can,” he said.
“That’s right,” I agreed, “He can circle everything. Circles are free.”
Dream big. Circle everything. Both are free.
Then Brien got in on the act and three of us had a silly time at the kitchen table. Pretty soon the catalogues were forgotten and we were just talking about the commercialization of Christmas and how so many people miss the boat about what Christmas is supposed to be about. We all in our way, bore our testimony to each other about the importance of Jesus Christ in our life. We talked about how fortunate and blessed we are, even though there is very little money for Christmas. I asked them, “if you could trade the life you have now for a million dollars, would you?” They both answered no way and for a moment I got all warm and tingly inside and then Wes had to pipe in and say “10 million would get me considering it.” Brien laughed and I cuffed Wes upside the head. I told them that despite all of the challenges and changes we are experiencing as a family with children about to fly the coop, there is no amount of money that could tempt me away from my life with ALL my boys!
Now if you had asked me that about two hours later… what can I say life with teens is never dull!
3 comments:
Catalogs are fun. I hope Sam will do stuff like that with me when he is a teen.
That actually sound like fun. I think it's funny that it took Brien some time to get into it. It reminds me of Garrett the other night. We were doing a gingerbread house from one of the kits and he was getting mad at McKell because she wasn't doing it exactly like the picture on the box. McKell is creative like her dad, Garrett is more like me. It took a lot to convince him that it was ok to have our house look different.
From what I hear, the McGiven's Christmas WAS a catalog....ALL of it under the tree! Maybe that was after you left the house....how convenient.
By the way, that Tiny Tim thing was pretty funny...I'm just glad that the description of tiny was there because I am feeling anything but that right now. :)
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